$3K reward offered for info about missing man

$3K reward offered for info about missing man

Nicholas Coppola, 25, has been missing from Mid-Missouri since December 2010.

WARRENTON, Mo. (AP) - Relatives of a Columbia man who remains missing nearly five months after his car was found on Interstate 70 have offered a $3,000 reward for information that helps find him.

Nicholas Coppola, 25, is thought to have been driving to his parents' home in the eastern Missouri town of Weldon Springs in December when he ran out of gas west of Foristell.

Police found his wallet and a cellphone inside his abandoned car.

The Columbia Tribune reports Coppola had met members of a religious group and talked about going to California with them at one point. But shortly before his disappearance talk had shifted to returning to school.

Coppola had been studying economics at the University of Missouri but dropped out in the spring 2010 semester.